The Unbuckling
The Unbuckling is a catastrophic, apocalyptic event brought about by the Unbuckler (aka Maryn), resulting in the destruction of the entire multiverse. It is barely avoided at the end of Season 16. The Prophecy The first mention of the Unbuckling occurs in S16E02, "Culture Shock," when Jedediah explains his cult's belief system. Jedediah describes a vague apocalypse, brought about by a terrifying figure he refers to as "The Unbuckler." At the end of the episode, he realizes that Maryn is, in fact, the fabled destroyer, and flees, terrified, with his cult in tow. Eventually, Maryn is brought before an interdimensional court and put on trial for threatening the stability of the multiverse. During the trial, it is established that Jedediah's "Unbuckler" prophecy is actually true. According to Jordan Prime, the Unbuckler is a prophesied figure that can "enact change across all dimensions," and poses a serious threat to The Judge and the safety of the multiverse. The Judge attempts to sentence Maryn to death for being the Unbuckler, but the crew manages to escape. As punishment, The Judge banishes them to the Real World and cancels Down to Film across all universes. The Event The Unbuckling begins during a cross-dimensional telethon that Maryn put on using her powers in a desperate attempt to save Down to Film. While talking to an alternate universe version of Down to Film over the phone, Maryn asks them if they want to come and help on the telethon. However, once Maryn opens a portal for them to come through, their universe collapses, and they are erased from existence. Later, the Judge calls the station, furious, and explains that this is why Maryn's powers are dangerous: flippant interdimensional travel can result in the destruction of entire universes. Maryn, still not entirely understanding, opens a portal to the Judge's realm, killing him. The death of the Judge, who represented all order in the multiverse, sets in motion a catastrophic domino effect of universes being wiped from existence one-by-one. In the Real World, this is observed as entire seasons of Down to Film being deleted from the youtube channel. The first character casualty to the Unbuckling is Henry, who is deleted in the middle of an interview. He is quickly followed by Amaya. Wilson goes next, after saying a bittersweet goodbye to Maryn and the crew. Out on the street, Josh disappears while filming Austin interviewing pedestrians. Jenny vanishes in the middle of writing her last will and testament. The last character to go is Jordan, who dies in Maryn's arms. Maryn begs Real Evan to help her and write a new ending to the episode where everyone survives. Evan explains that he can't because the ending of this episode is being decided by the viewers (a reference to an actual audience poll that was put out by the DTF staff following episode 7) and that if she wants to save everyone, she has to keep the audience entertained. In a last-ditch effort, Maryn calls up old members of DTF to talk about why the show is important to them. This manages to reset everything, and the Unbuckling is averted.